Artificial ACL Offers New Hope for Injured Athletes

Jan-03-15 A man-made ACL replacement made of a combination of man-made and naturally-occurring materials could provide a better option for repairing a patient's ruptured ACL.

Most ACL treatments involve restructuring the ACL using patellar tendon grafts, but that procedure also leaves behind lingering knee pain. As an alternative, a team from Northwestern University created an artificial ACL made up of braided polyester fibers, an antioxidant and porous biomaterial previously created in the lab, and calcium nanocrystals, which are found in human teeth and bones. The biomaterial and calcium nanocrystals were mixed to form a bone-like material with the polyester fibers embedded within it. When the artificial ACL was inserted into tunnels drilled in the femur and tibia of animal test subjects, the animal's own bone and tissue cells began moving into the pores of the device to anchor it in place.

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[GIZMAG.COM]
[MCCORMICK.NORTHWESTERN.EDU]

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